Enterprises in the country are in the mood to hire more workers, with the “employment outlook index” for the fourth quarter hitting the highest on record following a generally upbeat sentiment on the Philippine economy.

This was the view of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or central bank), which cited the results of one of its latest surveys showing that the index for hiring expectation of firms in the country at +27.4 per cent for the fourth quarter of the year.

This was the highest index registered since the BSP started conducting the quarterly survey in 2006. The index stood at +23.2 per cent during the survey held for the fourth quarter of 2011.

The employment outlook index is the difference between the percentage of respondent firms that indicated an intention to hire more workers in the next quarter—in this case, the fourth quarter of 2012—and the percentage of those that said they did not intend to increase their workforce.

“Another indicator supporting expectations of sustained growth momentum in 2012 was the employment outlook index,” the BSP said in a report on the results of its latest survey, which was held last month.

The intention to hire more workers came with the plan of some firms to expand operations, the central bank said.

The same survey showed that the index for expansion plans for the fourth quarter of the year stood at +27.8 per cent. This was higher than the +26.6 per cent recorded for the fourth quarter of last year.

The positive index meant that the percentage of respondent firms that intended to expand operations exceeded that of those without expansion plans, the BSP said.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the manifestation of firms to hire workers supported the view that the Philippines could maintain a robust growth throughout the year. As firms hire more employees, he said, their production as well as the consumption of more earning individuals would help the economy keep its growth momentum.

The Philippines grew by 5.9 per cent in the second quarter from a year ago, bringing the average growth for the first semester to 6.1 per cent. The government has set its full-year growth target at a range of 5 to 6 per cent.

The growth of the economy so far this year was traced partly to increased government spending and the recovery of the export sector from last year’s contracted earnings.